MariaDB vs SAP HANA comparison

MariaDB and SAP are both solutions in the Relational Databases Tools category. MariaDB is ranked #4 with an average rating of 7.8, while SAP is ranked #3 with an average rating of 8.1. MariaDB holds a 6.3% mindshare in SQL, compared to SAP’s 10.1% mindshare. Additionally, 96% of MariaDB users are willing to recommend the solution, compared to 91% of SAP users who would recommend it.

MariaDB

Read 59 MariaDB reviews

6,650 Views
4,190 Comparison Views

96% willing to recommend

SAP HANA

Read 89 SAP HANA reviews

7,432 Views
6,243 Comparison Views

91% willing to recommend

MariaDB

SAP HANA

Comparison Buyer's Guide

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Executive SummaryUpdated on Jul 13, 2025

SAP HANA and MariaDB compete in the database management system category. SAP HANA appears to have the upper hand due to its advanced features and real-time processing capabilities, especially appealing to large enterprises.

Features: SAP HANA stands out with impressive real-time processing, in-memory technology reducing storage needs, and high-speed analytics. It is known for stable performance and excellent support for real-time analytics and supplier relationship management. Its data compression, high performance, and audit trails make it ideal for large enterprises. Meanwhile, MariaDB is appreciated for being open-source and user-friendly, offering efficient data handling, robust performance, and replication at a lower cost.

Room for Improvement: SAP HANA faces critiques over its high cost, complexity, and needing better integration and customization. Users desire enhancements in technical support, ease of use, scalability, and memory management. There is also a call for more flexibility in licensing. MariaDB, while cost-effective, lacks some enterprise-grade features and requires improvements in clustering, redundancy, backup management, scalability, and stability. Users also suggest better documentation and system integration.

Ease of Deployment and Customer Service: Both SAP HANA and MariaDB offer diverse deployment options including on-premises and cloud environments. SAP HANA is often seen as complex during deployment but benefits from strong technical support, though with some reports of slow responses. MariaDB is praised for ease of use and straightforward setup, bolstered by strong community support, although challenges with technical support are noted compared to proprietary solutions.

Pricing and ROI: SAP HANA is recognized for offering substantial value with robust features and fast processing, especially in large enterprises, but is considered expensive with a high total cost of ownership. Its licensing is viewed as an investment with potential significant returns in complex environments. MariaDB’s open-source nature offers a cost advantage with no licensing fees, making it attractive for budget-constrained businesses while providing solid functionality and ROI.

To learn more, read our detailed MariaDB vs. SAP HANA Report (Updated: July 2025).

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. SAP HANA

July 2025

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Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Categories and Ranking

MariaDB

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

4th

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

7.1

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Open Source Databases (4th)

SAP HANA

Ranking in Relational Databases Tools

3rd

Average Rating

8.2

Reviews Sentiment

6.4

Number of Reviews

Ranking in other categories

Data Virtualization (2nd), Embedded Database (4th)

Mindshare comparison

As of August 2025, in the Relational Databases Tools category, the mindshare of MariaDB is 6.3%, down from 9.1% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of SAP HANA is 10.1%, down from 11.4% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.

Relational Databases Tools

Featured Reviews

KumarManish

Senior Technical Manager at Johnson Controls, Inc.

Easy to deploy, cost-effective, and integrates seamlessly with other products

We had planned for an RDBMS version and not NoSQL. We use MariaDB Galera Cluster. It's a good product. It is cheap, scalable, performs well, and is efficient. We use GCP’s BigQuery for machine learning. We must follow the best practices of the tool. We missed some best practices like the storage engine and InnoDB. It was very difficult to identify why we were having performance issues. Then, we realized that some of our tables were still on MyISAM, the default storage engine. When we switched it back to the InnoDB, it was very smooth. InnoDB is the recommended one. We must follow the best practices given in the documentation during the initial setup. Overall, I rate the product a nine out of ten.

Read full review

Dhiraj Jankar

Senior SAP Basis Consultant at Capgemini

Users appreciate the mix of in-memory architecture and ease of backend management

The most valuable SAP HANA features are that, compared to Oracle, there is less administrative work and less complex work to handle, making it very straightforward. The tool itself takes care of the backend work. The main benefits SAP HANA provides to users include its architecture, which combines both column store and row store capabilities. Some places find the row feature important, whereas others find column store important. It allows some tables to be stored in a column base, others in a row base, and the In-Memory functionalities are mostly the highlight of SAP HANA, especially compared to disk-based memory users. This was the main reason SAP HANA was introduced initially.

Read full review

Quotes from Members

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:

Pros

"We use MariaDB for identity provider services. Most of the things that we are doing are deployed in the container mode. All such solutions require a database, and MariaDB is easier to use for these kinds of deployments."

"I am editing."

"MariaDB has a straightforward initial setup with easy-to-understand documentation."

"The speed and functionality are the most valuable features."

"The product has good documentation and you can find many examples online."

"The most valuable feature of MariaDB is that it is open-source and we can easily migrate from other databases, such as Oracle to MariaDB."

"The most valuable feature of the solution is the query speed it offers."

"I would say that for most use cases it works fine."

More MariaDB pros

"We have found the solution to be customizable and it is beneficial it comes as a bundled package. Additionally, it is user-friendly."

"We are using the solution for the DW system. The primary function of the solution is for the database in memory."

"The product's initial setup phase was really easy."

"The functionality is of the solution is very good."

"SAP HANA's interface is pretty user-friendly."

"This solution is very fast."

"It is very flexible to integrate with SaaS components."

"It's user-friendly so long as you use it frequently."

More SAP HANA pros

Cons

"It should work across all fields like SQLite, as it is the basis of any application, even apps for phones and the like."

"The features available are very basic."

"Could have more integration with user platforms."

"When we have had issues with accidental computer shutdown or a power outage, our MariaDB database was corrupted."

"The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper."

"I would like to see a better user interface which would make the tool less complex."

"The customer service and support are okay. But the response time is slow. Moreover, the material is not available freely."

"While MariaDB is a good relational database, it can be inflexible for complex use cases."

More MariaDB cons

"SAP HANA is not strong like Oracle when it comes to finance. They are only strong with the logistic business project."

"The user interface and CRM need to be more user-friendly."

"The deployment of SAP HANA is far too complicated and takes far too long. The typical implementation time is between six months and two years."

"The interface is a little bit hard to customize. You almost have to consult the SAP original developer to change it."

"The solution could improve in the handling of backup data and the administration tools."

"The solution could improve by having better migration flexibility. For example, it would be helpful if there was a way for customers could check their nonproduction and production deployments."

"It is challenging to integrate it with third-party tools."

"High availability and disaster recovery are very poor in HANA."

More SAP HANA cons

Pricing and Cost Advice

"When it comes to MariaDB, it should have a more cost-effective license."

"The price of this solution represents a very good compromise between the cost and what it offers."

"The cost is quite good. You can have the open source, free version, which has adequate capacity."

"We use the solution's free version."

"MariaDB is a free-to-use solution."

"The product is not expensive."

"It's an open-source solution."

"The price could be less expensive."

More MariaDB pricing and cost advice

"The licensing cost for SAP HANA is approximately $200 per user per month."

"The price of SAP HANA is very expensive and it is paid annually."

"People who are technical will accept the cost, but financially they will assess whether this solution will bring them revenue or not. People often ask, how will I profit when the cost is so high?"

"The licensing could improve."

"There is a yearly subscription to use SAP HANA. There is a fee for maintenance."

"SAP HANA is affordable. I rate it a seven out of ten."

"The price of licensing is dependent on the size of the project, however, we have found that there is scope to negotiate the cost. If the solution is implemented on-premises there may be some extra costs for hosting etc."

"I would rate the pricing of the solution a ten on ten. The pricing for on-prem SAP HANA is on a yearly basis and expensive. I am not aware of the actual pricing but it is based on 64 Gigabytes. For instance, if you consider $10,000 for 64 Gigabytes, then you can calculate the cost for Terabytes in case you have one. You will have to buy expensive hardware as well which is quite a lot."

More SAP HANA pricing and cost advice

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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews

Computer Software Company

15%

Financial Services Firm

10%

Comms Service Provider

Manufacturing Company

15%

Computer Software Company

Financial Services Firm

Government

Company Size

By reviewers

Large Enterprise

Midsize Enterprise

Small Business

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about MariaDB?

The integration with other products is seamless.

See all answers

What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for MariaDB?

I have found the price of commercial MariaDB to be pretty steep, although not as high as Oracle. Customers often prefer the Community Edition because it's free.

See all answers

What needs improvement with MariaDB?

The only potential area for improvement could be the pricing model, which might benefit from being more flexible or a bit cheaper.

See all answers

What are the biggest benefits of using SAP HANA?

Based on my work with SAP HANA, the biggest benefit that it can bring to your business is total data management. This product is by SAP - a company that serves almost all needs a client may have co...

See all answers

Is SAP HANA’s customer and technical support reliable?

We have been using SAP HANA for a fairly short period of time and have only taken advantage of their customer support. So far, we have not had issues that required specialized help from technical s...

See all answers

Is SAP HANA difficult to set up and start using?

SAP HANA is fairly easy to set up, however, I do not think a complete beginner can do it. You certainly need some preparation - either you need to have experience with similar solutions, or with ot...

See all answers

Comparisons

Firebird SQL vs MariaDB

Compared 23% of the time

SQL Server vs MariaDB

Compared 22% of the time

PostgreSQL vs MariaDB

Compared 13% of the time

MySQL vs MariaDB

Compared 9% of the time

LocalDB vs MariaDB

Compared 1% of the time

More MariaDB Competitors

Oracle Database vs SAP HANA

Compared 25% of the time

SQL Server vs SAP HANA

Compared 20% of the time

MySQL vs SAP HANA

Compared 10% of the time

IBM Db2 Database vs SAP HANA

Compared 8% of the time

Apache Spark vs SAP HANA

Compared 5% of the time

More SAP HANA Competitors

Product Reports

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB

August 2025

Download MariaDB product report

Buyer's Guide

SAP HANA

July 2025

Download SAP HANA product report

Also Known As

No data available

SAP High-Performance Analytic Appliance, HANA

Overview

MariaDB is an open source relational database created by the original founders of MySQL. It is considered one of the most popular and trusted database servers throughout the world. MariaDB is a valued component found in most cloud offerings and is the default in many Linux tools. It is also widely used by Wikipedia, WordPress, and Google, among other well-known sites. Maria DB easily melds data into concise information from a vast array of applications, such as banking, online shopping, websites, and more.

MariaDB was originally created to improve MySQL performance. It is the most widely chosen database server due to the solution being super fast, robust, user-friendly, and easily scalable. MariaDB also offers a substantial ecosystem of plugins, storage engines, and numerous other valuable tools that make it very attractive for a significant offering of use cases.

The solution’s newest functionalities include compatibility with Oracle Database and Temporal Data Tables, and advanced clustering with Galera Cluster 4, which make it easier for users to research data history from any point in the past. Additionally, the most recent versions include JSON and GIS features. MariaDB is committed to staying an open source solution.

MariaDB Features

More storage: MariaDB works with more storage engines than MySQL and most other database servers available. Some storage options include, but are not limited to ARCHIVE, MERGE, CSV, MEMORY, BLACKHOLE, MyISAM, ColumnStore, MyRocks, and Cassandra.
Super fast: MariaDB offers faster authentication checks. The FlushSSL permits SSL certificates to be reloaded without a server restart, resulting in huge time savings.
Improved testing: MariaDB offers an extending testing suite that runs faster and can test more than ever before. Bugs can be easily fixed and invalid tests removed.
Genuinely open source: Every code in MariaDB is GPL, LGPL, or BSD. Client libraries [for Windows (ODBC), Java (JDBC), or C] allow linking to closed source software. All fixed bug cases and development plans are completely public. MariaDB is a community-developed solution representing the true spirit of open source products.

Reviews from Real Users

Faustine C., Engineering Supervisor- Corporate Data Solutions and Services at TZ Telecoms Corporation, shares, “The software provides a lot of information on what is happening inside the database. For most performance parameters it is easy to know if something is not right in the configuration or optimization which helps engineers take remedial fine-tuning measures. For example, if the database is underperforming it is easy to know which performance parameter can be adjusted to handle the workload. It is difficult to troubleshoot database issues if many performance parameters can not be monitored or debugged which is the case with some database management systems. It provides great monitoring of data storage, processing, and performance stability which is really important for real-time data storage and processing. It's a user-friendly product.”

A PeerSpot user who is a Senior Engineer at a tech services company relates, “ The solution's high availability is its most valuable aspect. We have found the product to be stable and the initial setup is pretty simple. I'd rate the solution at a ten out of ten. I'm very happy with it overall. I would recommend the solution to others. It's easy to find details about the product online and to learn about it.”

MariaDB

SAP HANA, also known as SAP High-performance Analytics Appliance, is a multi-model database that stores data in its memory, allowing users to avoid disk storage. The product combines its robust database with services for creating applications. SAP HANA is faster than other database management systems (DBMS) because it stores data in column-based tables in main memory and brings online analytical processing (OLAP) and online transaction processing (OLTP) together.

The column-oriented in-memory database design allows users to run high-speed transactions alongside advanced analytics, all in a single system. This provides companies with the ability to process very large amounts of data with low latency and query data in an instant. By combining multiple data management capabilities, the solution simplifies IT, helps businesses with innovations, and facilitates digital transformation.

The solution is structured into five groups of capabilities, categorized as:

Database design
Database management
Application development
Advanced analytics
Data virtualization

There are three more SAP products that work alongside SAP HANA and complete the experience for users together. SAP S/4HANA Cloud is a ready-to-run cloud enterprise resource planning (ERP). SAP BW/4HANA is a packaged data warehouse, based on SAP HANA, which allows users to consolidate data across the enterprise to get a consistent view of their data. Finally, SAP Cloud is a single database as a service (DBaaS) foundation for modern applications and analytics across all enterprise data. All three products can combine with SAP HANA to deliver to users an optimized experience regarding their data.

SAP HANA Features

Each architectural group of capabilities of SAP HANA has various features that users can benefit from. These include:

Parallel processing database: SAP HANA utilizes a single platform to run transactional and analytical workloads.
ACID compliance: This feature ensures compliance with requirements for Atomicity, Consistency, Isolation, and Durability (ACID) standards.
Multi-tenancy: This feature allows multiple tenant databases to run in one system while sharing the same memory and processors.
Multi-tier storage and persistent memory support: SAP HANA's native storage extension is a built-in capability to manage between memory and persistent storage, including SAP HANA Cloud Data Lake.
Scaling: The scaling feature supports terabytes of data in a single server and distributes large tables across multiple servers in a cluster to scale further.
Data modeling: This feature consists of graphical modeling tools that enable collaboration between stakeholders and the creation of models to execute complex business logic and data transformation in real time.
Stored procedures: The product has a native language to build stored procedures and uses advanced capabilities to create complex logic.
Administration: This feature consists of administration tools for various platform lifecycle, performance, and management operations and automations.
Security: SAP HANA provides its users with real-time data anonymization features to extract value from data while protecting privacy.
Availability and recovery: The tool supports high availability and disaster recovery through an array of techniques, including backup, storage mirroring, synchronous, asynchronous, and multitarget system replication.
Extended application services: Through its built-in application server, users can develop services such as REST and ODATA, as well as web applications that can run on multiple locations.
Client access: The product offers clients the ability to access it via other application platforms and languages, including Java, JavaScript, R, and Go.
Application lifecycle management: This set of features facilitates the building and packaging of applications, transporting them for development to test to production, and then deploying them.
Application development: This feature consists of a set of tools that offer application development on premises and in the Cloud. The programming language ABAP includes additional optimized features to build extensions to SAP applications.
Search: The search feature uses SQL to locate text promptly across multiple columns and textual content.
Spatial processing: This product feature provides native support for spatial data types and spatial functions.
Graph: Through this feature, users of the product can store and process highly connected data using a property graph.
Streaming analytics: This feature combines various data sources that users can utilize to discover trends over a set period.
Data integration and replication: The solution offers comprehensive features to handle all data integration scenarios.
Data federation: This feature allows users to perform queries on remote data sources in real time with data federation.
Caching: The capacity to cache data provides users with the ability to optimize federated queries against remote sources of data.

SAP HANA Benefits

SAP HANA provides many benefits for its users. These include:

This solution offers a high level of data and application security, beginning from a secure setup and providing continuous support.
SAP HANA offers augmentation for applications and analytics with built-in machine learning (ML).
The solution works in a timely manner, as it provides a response to queries within seconds in large production applications.
SAP HANA simplifies work, as it provides a single gateway to all user data with advanced data virtualization.
The product is very flexible, as it allows users to deploy applications in a public or private cloud, in multiple clouds, on premises, or hybrid.
SAP HANA scales easily for data volume and concurrent users across a distributed environment.
This is a powerful solution in terms of querying large datasets with a massively parallel processing (MPP) database.
SAP HANA is a versatile product that supports hybrid transactional and analytical processing as well as many data types.
The product provides a smaller data footprint with no data duplication or advanced compression, and reduces data silos.

Reviews from Real Users

According to a database consultant at a pharma/biotech company, SAP HANA is a very robust solution with good data access.

Bruno V., owner at LAVORO AUTOM INF E COM LTDA, likes SAP HANA because the product offers advanced features, helps reduce hours, and makes it easy to find what you need.

SAP

Sample Customers

Google, Wikipedia, Tencent, Verizon, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, Telefónica, Huatai Securities

Unilever, NHS 24, adidas Group, CHIO Aachen, Hamburg Port Authority (HPA), Bangkok Airways Public Company Limited

Buyer's Guide

MariaDB vs. SAP HANA

July 2025

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